A chaotic ending, a colossal statement. After a decade waiting to win at a full Anfield, Pep Guardiola finally did it — a comeback for the ages that should have been crowned by a halfway-line finish into an empty net, only for finicky officiating to add needless absurdity. Still, the result stood and the title race tightened, with live buzz on crown88.
When Liverpool led, it felt like Arsenal’s coronation was imminent. “We knew that if we lost, the title race was probably over,” admitted Bernardo Silva. Instead, he helped flip the script. Erling Haaland, marshalled well by Virgil van Dijk for long stretches, morphed from frustrated figure to catalyst. Guardiola — 10 previous visits with only a lockdown win — finally cracked the code. “It is so difficult,” he sighed. “Anfield is Anfield: tradition, history, the crowd.”
The victory hit Liverpool hard. Dominik Szoboszlai, who looked on course to be match-winner, ended up sent off and now misses Wednesday’s trip to Sunderland. Arne Slot, who outfoxed Guardiola home and away last season, saw momentum swing: City completed their first league double over Liverpool since 1937, and a second defeat in three left the Dutchman fuming. “So many times we’ve not got what we deserved,” he said.
If the first hour lacked the epic crackle of peak Guardiola v Klopp encounters, the finale more than compensated — especially for Szoboszlai’s misfortune. With Alisson marooned in City territory, Rayan Cherki rolled a shot from the centre circle towards an unguarded net. Szoboszlai tugged Haaland, Haaland tugged back, neither reached the ball, and City celebrated. VAR intervened; referee Craig Pawson chalked off the strike and, inexplicably, showed Szoboszlai a red for denying a goalscoring opportunity even as the ball seemed destined to go in. Free-kick given, goal gone. “Just give the goal, don’t give the red — simple,” said Haaland. Guardiola echoed: “Come on, ref, give the goal and go home. Common sense.”
So it finished 2–1, with Haaland credited as match-winner. He assisted the equaliser, too, nodding Cherki’s cross beyond Van Dijk for Silva to slide in. Nursing doubts pre-match, the captain — “the perfect leader,” per Guardiola — lasted the 90 and launched the fightback.
Haaland then “ended” it, officially at least. He still hasn’t scored a Premier League open-play goal since Christmas, a footnote that fades beside an ice-cold Anfield penalty. Silva clipped a ball forward, Matheus Nunes was bundled by Alisson, and Haaland drilled the spot-kick. Shirt off, booking accepted, zen celebration engaged — another old Anfield ghost exorcised.
Cherki’s impact was decisive. Omitted from the XI, his creativity was missed; introduced, he changed the game. He might have joined Liverpool last summer, but they went for Florian Wirtz. Elsewhere, Marc Guéhi — a near Liverpool signing on deadline day — was superb, even accepting a yellow for tugging Mohamed Salah on the edge of the box. Slot raged that it should have been red; Pawson likely got that one right. After full-time, Haaland beckoned Pep Lijnders, Klopp’s long-time No.2 and now Guardiola’s ally, to share the City fans’ applause — a twist few saw coming.
And Gianluigi Donnarumma, the penalty hero who dumped Liverpool out of Europe last season, produced a stupendous 98th-minute stop to thwart Alexis Mac Allister. “Out of this world,” said Haaland.
When the Italian was beaten earlier, it took something outrageous: Szoboszlai’s free-kick swerved in off the far post, pinning Donnarumma to the turf. For a while, City looked set to drift from the title race — superior before the break without scoring, inferior after it — until the flip. Now, Liverpool are bruised and Arsenal are looking over their shoulder. “Six points is still a lot,” warned Guardiola, “but all we can do is breathe down Arsenal’s necks.” Consider the pressure applied — and the storyline humming on crown88.
